Michigan

Purdue Basketball: Michigan Preview

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2024

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University of Michigan Wolverines

Overall Record: 7-11

Big 10 Record: 2-5

KenPom Ranking: 79

Basic Information

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Type of School: Public Research University

Mascot: None (seriously, how hard is it to put someone in a Wolverine costume?)

Head Coach – Juwan Howard

Seasons at Michigan: 5

Other Head Coaching Jobs: None

Career Record: 86-59

Conference Championships: 1

Conference Tournament Championships: 0

NCAA Appearances: 2 (5-2)

Final Four Appearances: 0

Kenpom Style of Play

() = National Ranking per Kenpom

Offense

Adj. Efficiency: 116.1 (45)

Avg. Poss. Length: 17.6 (198)

Defense

Adj. Efficiency: 54.6 (39)

Avg. Poss. Length: 17.6 (198)

Adjusted Tempo

67.6

Kenpom 4 Factors

() = National Ranking per Kenpom

Offense

Effective FG%: 54.6 (39)

Turnover %: 17.9 (207)

Off. Reb. %: 31.7 (96)

FTA/FGA: 31.5 (206)

Defense

Effective FG%: 50.1 (164)

Turnover %: 14.2 (331)

Off. Reb. %: 30.5 (235)

FTA/FGA: 30.2 (122)

Personnel

Michigan Starters

Position	Number	Player	Class	Height	Weight	Previous Team	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Position	Number	Player	Class	Height	Weight	Previous Team	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Point Guard	3	Jaelin Llewellyn	So.	5’11”	175	Princeton	11.5	3.4	0.9	0.9	0.3	0
Shooting Guard	4	Nimari Burnett	Sr.	6’4″	200	Texas Tech / Alabama	31.8	9.6	4.7	2.6	1	0.6
Small Forward	5	Terrance Williams	Sr.	6’7″	225	N/A	34.2	12.6	4.2	1.3	1.3	0.6
Power Forward	13	Oliver Knamhoua	Sr.	6’9″	235	Tennessee	34.1	17	7.3	2.6	0.6	0.6
Center	32	Tarris Reed Jr.	So.	6’10”	265	N/A	24.1	8.8	6.2	0.6	0.7	1.3

Michigan Bench

Position	Number	Player	Class	Height	Weight	Previous Team	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Position	Number	Player	Class	Height	Weight	Previous Team	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Guard	40	George Washington	Fr.	6’2″	170	N/A	6.2	0.5	0.1	0.3	0	0.1
Small Forward	24	Youssef Khayat	So.	6’9″	215	N/A	5.5	1.5	0.9	0	0.1	0.2
Power Forward	42	Will Tschetter	So.	6’8″	245	N/A	16.8	7.4	2.4	0.6	0.2	0.2

Michigan on Offense

Like the Illinois game, this is tough because the Wolverines are playing without their road-suspended (no idea guys, just reporting the facts) leading scorer, Dug McDaniel. The Wolverines have enough trouble on offense with his 17 points a game in the lineup. Without them, it’s a struggle.

The best game to watch in preparation for this game is the Michigan vs. Maryland game from January 11th. The Wolverines managed 57 points against the Terps. That’s not great. When you consider that the score of the game was 57-58 Maryland with 2:36 remaining and the final score was 57-64 Maryland, it’s even worse. Not only could Michigan not score, they couldn’t score when it mattered most.

Maryland pressed Michigan all game and gave up some easy hoops, but that makes sense. Maryland is also not good on offense, and without McDaniel, they have two guards they’re comfortable playing.

Purdue’s not going to press.

That’s bad for Michigan because the only time their offense had flow against Maryland was in transition. Their half-court sets were a grind if Maryland managed to deny their first option. Nothing looked easy or coherent. Almost every possession bogged down into some sort of iso look for whoever ended up with the ball in his hands when they ran out of ideas.

With McDaniel at home, Tennessee transfer Oliver Nkamhoua takes over as Juwan Howard’s go-to scorer. He’s a talented, consistent stretch 4, but he’s not a guy that’s going to go off and put up a huge number. He averages 17 a game, and he’s usually going to produce something close to that. His season high against a competitive team was 24 in an overtime loss to Florida. In the Maryland game, he scored an efficient 18 points on 8-16 shooting, but that didn’t help fill the hole left by McDaniel. Howard is probably getting everything Nkamhoua has to give. Someone else has to step up if they want to shot to win this game.

Nkamhoua has a sneaky post game that includes a nice turnaround jumper off the block that catches defenders flat-footed. His range extends out to the 3-point line where he shoots a solid 37%. He’s a solid finisher in traffic in transition. Solid may be the best way to describe his game. I don’t see any one elite skill, but he does everything average to above average and could give Purdue issues with his ability to post a smaller Mason Gillis or pull TKR (who is apparently healthy after doing something super weird looking to his leg against Iowa) away from the basket and attack him off the dribble.

The only player outside of Knamhoua that concerns me is Terrance Williams because he’s the other guy that can score outside the offense. The 6’7” wing is consistently inconsistent. He put up 24 against Penn State and looked like one of the best wings in the conference. He put up 8 last time out against Illinois on 3-10 shooting and looked disinterested.

In Michigan’s upset win over Ohio State, Williams put up 18 points, including going 5-5 from deep. That’s the type of shooting that could keep the Wolverines in this game. In fact, Williams getting hot may be the only way Michigan keeps this thing close. Look for Williams when Purdue doubles Knamhoua in the paint. He’s 6’7”, he’s going to get a clean look over a closeout. He’ll need to hit every halfway decent chance he gets.

Michigan on Defense

If you’re going to slow Purdue down, you need a Zach Edey plan.

I don’t think Michigan has a workable Zach Edey plan.

They have to double-team the big man. Tarris Reed is a load at 6’10”, 265, but Zach will foul him out in the first half if he’s left to check the best player in college basketball on his own. Once Reed gets into foul trouble, Michigan is cooked beyond cooked. Their backup center is 6’9” Olivier Knamhoua, and he also happens to be Michigan’s first, second, and third option on offense. Zach will make him look like a child in the paint.

The Wolverines are going to have to double Zach, but they’re not well-connected on defense. Purdue’s going to find wide-open perimeter looks once they get Michigan in rotation, and they’re going to have them in rotation all game. Jones, Loyer, and Gillis better calibrate their shots to swish because they’re going to get more open looks than they know what to do with in this one.

Matchup to Watch

Zach Edey vs Tarris Reed Jr.

This one has the potential to get out of hand and stay out of hand. Michigan is only 7 deep with Dug in the lineup. Their only big off the bench receiving consistent minutes is 6’8” Will Tschetter. If this comes down to a Zach Edey vs. Will Tschetter battle in the post, scoring records could fall.

For Michigan to have a chance in this game, Reed Jr. has to stay on the court. I don’t see anyone else capable of stopping Zach from scoring 40+ other than Matt Painter if Reed Jr. gets in early foul trouble.

Prediction

KenPom

Purdue: 86

Michigan: 69

Confidence: 26%

Drew

Purdue: 90

Michigan: 70

The Wolverines could use a “get right” game after dropping 6 of their last 7. Purdue is a get murdered game. Michigan might get hot from outside and keep the game reasonable in the first half, but they don’t have enough to hang for an entire game.

Coach Howard may want to consider turning this game over to one of his assistants.

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Michigan

Woman struck, fatally injured, while walking on the Lodge Freeway, state police say

Published

4 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Woman struck, fatally injured, while walking on the Lodge Freeway, state police say

March 27, 2026 / 7:44 AM EDT
/ CBS Detroit

A pedestrian was struck and died of her injuries early Friday on the Lodge Freeway in Detroit.

Emergency dispatchers started to get calls about 2:30 a.m. about someone who was walking along the Lodge, and then were notified that the person had been struck by a vehicle, the Michigan State Police reported.

When troopers arrived, they found multiple cars stopped along the freeway, and people standing around a woman who was severely injured.

Detroit EMS pronounced the woman dead at the scene, state police said. She has not yet been identified.

The driver who struck the woman did not stay at the scene.

“Troopers are currently using technology that is available in the area to identify the vehicle involved,” MSP F/Lt. Mike Shaw said.

The Lodge Freeway, also known as M-10, was closed at about 2:46 a.m. Friday between Chicago Boulevard / Hamilton Avenue and Clairmount Street for the investigation and emergency assistance, according to Michigan Department of Transportation reports. The Lodge was reported back open at 6:05 a.m.

Michigan Department of Transportation traffic reports are at the MI Drive site.

State police said their investigation is continuing. Those who witnessed the crash or have other information are asked to call the MSP Metro South Post at 734-287-5000 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 800-SPEAK-UP.

In:

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Michigan

List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan

Published

16 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan

Severe storms bring risk of tornadoes, hail, flooding

4Warn Weather – The severe thunderstorm warnings in Monroe and Lenawee counties have expired.

A ground stoppage has also been deployed.

Click here for the latest forecast from our 4Warn Weather team.

Here’s a list of the alerts by county.

Wayne County

No active weather alerts.

Oakland County

No active weather alerts.

Macomb County

No active weather alerts.

Washtenaw County

No active weather alerts.

Monroe County

Severe thunderstorm warning expired at 8 p.m.

Livingston County

No active weather alerts.

Lenawee County

Severe thunderstorm warning expired at 7:45 p.m.

Lapeer County

No active weather alerts.

Genesee County

No active weather alerts.

St. Clair County

No active weather alerts.

Sanilac County

No active weather alerts.

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Michigan

Michigan football emphasizes return of discipline under new regime

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Michigan football emphasizes return of discipline under new regime

The buzzword continued to come up in Schembechler Hall, from each one of the captains.

From Bryce Underwood to Jordan Marshall, Rod Moore to Trey Pierce − Michigan football players around for the previous regime and in the case of the latter two, the one before that too − each said Wednesday, March 25, that there’s a noticeable difference within the program under new coach Kyle Whittingham.

For Moore, a sixth-year player who will likely become a third-time captain when the official leaders are voted on later this summer, he recognized the vibe.

“I would say it’s kind of a similarity to coach Harbaugh’s regimen,” he said. “It’s a lot more strict than the past two years, and the weight room has kind of been a night-and-day difference than the past two years. We feel a lot stronger, a lot more progress.”

The Wolverines finished winter conditioning and Whittingham graded it with an “A+.” Hope is often the dominant mode at this time of year and adding a new coaching staff to what’s generally a positive time creates little surprise that the Wolverines are raving about the new system.

But beyond the platitudes and clichés, there are tangible examples. Take Pierce: The projected starting defensive tackle has trimmed his weight to 300 pounds while adding muscle mass to his overall frame.

“Something new that we have now is that whenever we start meetings, there’s like a loud air horn that goes off throughout the whole building,” Moore said. “The past two years, we would start the meeting at 2:30, but now we start the meeting at 2:25, even though it’s a 2:30 meeting. Just everyone being five minutes early. The coaches are holding everyone accountable in the meetings, going to class.

“Just the little things that makes a team great, not just the big, broad things that everyone sees.”

There was an implication from everyone, though nothing said explicitly, that the past two seasons featured little enforcement. Most players would show up on time for lifts, but there were those who didn’t, with few repercussions.

“It’s the little things,” Pierce said. “Guys being late for lifts, guys not being where they’re supposed to be, whether it’s [missing] class. Just enforcing that a little bit heavier, that type of thing. … A lot of coaches say that when you’re being recruited in front of your parents. But for [Whittingham] to say that in front of the huddle after practice and say, ‘That’s why I’m here,’ I would say, ‘OK, he cares. He gets it.’”

Throughout the offseason, some who’ve spent time inside the facility said the weightlifting sessions had notably more juice. The past two years felt like a carryover of the previous years in terms of style, but accountability and discipline wavered.

Now, with Doug Elisaia leading the strength and conditioning room, there are different philosophies.

Practices are a bit shorter these days – two hours – but as Marshall said, “I don’t stop moving at practice, like, we’re always doing something that’s not only going to help with us competing with teams, but our conditioning.”

Marshall believes it can take the Wolverines to the next level, he said.

Just more than a week into spring ball, players are oozing confidence. Not just in their skills − the running back room is deep, the wide receiver room has as much raw talent as at any point the past decade, the offensive line returned multiple key pieces, the secondary added depth and the defensive tackles feel underrated − but in mindset.

U-M had early, demanding lifting sessions during winter conditioning, with a clear organization.

“It introduces that factor of toughness, like we’ve been through this at 6:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., all these days in the grind together,” Pierce said. “It improves team bonding, and puts you in the headspace of, we’ve done harder stuff than this, and nothing can break us.”

The difference between winning and losing can often be razor-thin. Will this pay off when it counts during the season?

“If I can trust you to do things maybe you don’t want to do,” Marshall said, “then I can trust you on the field when it’s the fourth quarter and we have one minute left.”

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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